This post is by Carol Andress, who manages outreach to the U.S. House of Representatives at Environmental Defense Fund.

Two new cap-and-trade bills were introduced in the House in June:

• Investing in Climate Action & Protection Act (Markey, D-MA, H.R. 6186)
• Climate MATTERS Act (Doggett/Blumenauer/Van Hollen, H.R. 6316)

They aren't the first cap-and-trade bills to be introduced in this Congress, but they bring the discussion to a new level.

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This post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.

Operation Climate Vote

This post is part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

We're closer than ever to passing national climate legislation:

• Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) predicts a Senate floor vote in June.
• House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) signals he'll circulate a bill in April.
• House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) says there's a 50-50 chance of passing climate legislation this year.

But we need to maintain grassroots pressure to keep legislators focused on the need to pass a bill this year.

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This post is by Carol Andress, Economic Development Specialist at Environmental Defense.

Operation Climate Vote

This post is part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

The U.S. House of Representatives is back in session this week, and they have some important work to do.

Last month, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (CSA) was passed out of committee in the Senate. This means that the bill now can be considered by the full Senate - an important step. But for a bill to become law in this country it has to be passed by both the House and Senate, and the House has not yet moved on climate legislation. (See our previous post for more on the legislative process.)

Before the break, the House was preoccupied with the energy bill, but that's now been passed. Next up should be climate legislation, and support is building for it. Here's what House members have been saying:

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This post is by Carol Andress, Economic Development Specialist at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

This post is part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Last night's committee passage of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (CSA) means that the bill now can be considered by the full Senate - an important step towards enacting national climate legislation. But for a bill to become law in this country it has to be passed by both the House and Senate, and the House is lagging behind. (See our previous post for more on the legislative process.)

So while we celebrate last night's Senate victory, we still have our work cut out for us in the House. The House Energy Commerce Committee has been tied up with the energy bill, and has not yet circulated a proposal on climate legislation. Now that a vote on the energy bill is imminent, it's time for House leaders to turn their attention.

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This post is by Carol Andress, Economic Development Specialist at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Passage of the Lieberman-Warner America's Climate Security Act in a key Senate subcommittee is a major political break-through. But the big question now is: When will the House begin work on a comprehensive global warming bill of its own?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders have pledged to make global warming a priority. And key House committee leaders John Dingell (D-MI) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) have drafted the first of a planned series of white papers analyzing policy options. These are all positive signs. But, what's missing is a legislative vehicle that can be marked up in committee and scheduled for floor action.

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This post is by Bill Petty, National Field Director at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Environmental Defense works hard to educate members of Congress about global warming, and motivate them to take action. The House is a particular challenge because, unlike the Senate, the House has never voted on global warming legislation. So to build a grassroots field campaign to win a majority in the House, we had to start from scratch.

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This post is by Carol Andress, Economic Development Specialist at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Unlike the Senate, which has voted twice on legislation to cap and reduce America's global warming pollution, the House has never brought a global warming bill to the floor.

So, when the incoming Speaker of the new Congress, Representative Nancy Pelosi, pledged to make global warming a top legislative priority in January, the House, as a legislative body, was starting from scratch.

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This post is by John Mimikakis, Senior Policy Manager at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Congressmen John Dingell (D-MI) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) aren't the most likely global warming allies. Until this year, Dingell was a staunch critic of efforts to curb global warming. And Boucher, hailing as he does from coal country, would seem more likely to play the role of climate skeptic than evangelist.

And yet, these two representatives appear to be leading House efforts to draft legislation that would, for the first time, place hard limits on America's global warming pollution.

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